Madness
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: Huntress needs to break the news to Nightwing about a rather uncomfortable subject matter.


_Disclaimer – I don't own Batman Beyond or Batman. This is the story for the seventh round of Write to Rank for the Action profile on Wattpad. I am using the continued theme of my alternative origin for Terry in this. For this one I needed to write a one-shot which is 1.8-2k in length which also contains "an explosion", "a damsel (distressed or not), "the words 'there is no stopping this madess'", and "lastly a big old cliffhanger". Note - Mary and Helena are the same person in the alternative origin.  
_

 **Madness**

Everyone would throw a fit when they found out.

Helena stood on the roof of the warehouse leaning against one of the air conditioning units. Looking up, the female vigilante found herself enjoying the site of the moon, a rare sight in Gotham. Over the last few weeks she'd imagined everyone's reactions once she told them her news yet telling _him_ frightened her the most. When she'd not backed down from telling Nightwing her news, she found herself grateful for the various interruptions.

However, she found herself reminded of the fact she'd avoided the conversation by the pregnancy test waiting for her at her apartment.

She imagined Cat Woman, her wonderful mother saying, " _I raised you just fine by myself, so you don't need the father's help either._ " Red Hood would fall over laughing, absolutely delighted Golden Boy messed up royally. Red Robin on the other hand would stick his fingers into his ears refusing to believe the person he'd idolized so much royally messed up.

She'd also imagined a negative reaction from the other female superheroes, being that the unspoken rule was Nightwing was spoken for. Even she found herself thinking he'd make a perfect couple with Batgirl, something she suspected everyone did. Everyone, that is, expect for her younger half-brother who held a major dislike towards Batgirl, possibly due to the fact he didn't think _anybody_ was good enough for his older brother _or_ older sister.

Speaking of Damien, she suspected he would say something like, " _my brother and sister did what_ ," and completely ignore the fact she and Nightwing weren't blood-related. Alfred – well, from all accounts there was little that phased the butler. As for her father…

" _Hey, Batman. I know you don't like me because you think I'm a conniving gold digger interested in your older son, but the truth is, if I really wanted part of the Wayne family fortune, I'd simply use my status as your biological daughter, my mother being Catwoman. By the way daddy, I'm pregnant with your oldest son's child._ " And when he had a heart attack in front of her, she'd say something like, " _Well, at least Nightwing and I aren't biologically related._ "

Because she was sure if anything could make Batman have a heart attack, or at least get a major emotional reaction, it would be _that_.

Nightwing's reaction honestly scared her the most. On one side, he'd likely want to do the honorable thing and marry her, yet she the very thought of losing her independence frightened her. On the other side, she wasn't sure he _knew_ who her parents were, and he might outright find himself turned off by the fact she was technically family. She'd not, however, grown up with any of Bruce's children.

"Huntress?"

Helena took a deep breath, looking down from the moon towards the young vigilante now standing on the roof watching her. "Nightwing."

"Sorry I'm late. You contacted me saying you wanted to tell me something important?"

Helena opened her mouth, her mind still contemplating how to tell him. As she attempted to do so, gunshots suddenly went off, drawing both of their attention towards the sound. Frustration boiled over, the relief brought by other interruptions now turning to frustration. "There is no stopping this madness."

"What?" Nightwing's voice strained, making Helena turned to look at him. He couldn't possibly have known how many times she'd come close to telling him he was going to possibly be a father, but that she definitely meant to tell him tonight. He was frowning, his mask somehow, like always, managing to show how he felt – this time the look on his face twisted in guilt and worry. "You're hesitating. You never…"

Helena took a deep breath, hurrying forward to investigate the incident below. Dropping down proved easy enough, but she found herself enjoying the adrenaline rush. She started forward, only for Nightwing to pull her back into hiding.

"Wait. Be careful."

Helena yanked her arm away, finding her displeased at his actions. "I can very well take care of myself."

Nightwing's mouth opened, then closed. He finally looked away, acting as if he felt guilty. "I know that. It's just…. Robin's kind of gotten attached to you."

" _So, it wasn't because you were the slightest bit attached to me._ " She couldn't help but feel a slight tinge of disappointment, yet she would give her own happiness up in a heartbeat for the two, which only made telling him even harder. "I got it. You're in love with Batgirl."

"Exactly what is that supposed to mean?" Nightwing was obviously confused, yet turned to see what was going on from their hiding spot. Shouting now mingled with the gunfire.

"It means what it means."

"Is this what you were trying to tell me about?" Nightwing spoke in a calm manner.

Helena flinched, placing her back against the wall, but no longer paying attention to the situation going on. " _He's figured it out._ " Of course, Catwoman described Batman as the world's greatest detective, yet hinted Nightwing might be able to rival his predecessor in said department. "What?"

"You wanted me to help you with this bust, before something like this happened tonight."

She took a deep breath, frustrated at his train of thought. " _Okay, maybe not the world's greatest detective after all. However, he was late to our meeting, even though I'd not noticed._ "

"Sorry I was late." Nightwing muttered, suddenly pushing her down just as gunfire came in their direction. He held her down, swallowing. "Huntress…"

"I told you! I can take care of myself!" To emphasize the fact, she stepped out of hiding and clocked one of the three goons attempting to hide near where they were, before kicking the other two in the groin. Nightwing's escrima came down hard on their heads, knocking them to the ground unconscious with their friend.

"You're hesitating again." He pulled her back into hiding, his voice lowering to a whisper. "Is me being late bothering you that much? That's why you said what you did regarding Batgirl. You thought the reason I was late was because I was goofing off with her, although she and I aren't dating. I'm not currently dating anyone."

Helena took a deep breath yet tried to hide said action. "Why?"

"Robin…" Nightwing glanced away. "Robin was upset about something yet wouldn't tell me what it was. I finally got him to calm down right before I left by promising I'd be back as soon as possible." His hand reached up to rub his head. "Wow. That sounds bad, like I don't want to be here helping you."

"Actually, that's one of the things I like about you." She watched her fellow vigilante startle, the confusion obviously back. She ignored Nightwing, and instead focused on taking out the next group of thugs, unsure of how he'd take finding out this _wasn't_ the reason she'd called him out. These she took out using her arrows, being that they weren't close by. Tonight though, seemed rife due to her distracted mind.

A loud thump came from behind, and yet this time it was not Nightwing. She took a deep breath. "Robin?" Her brother stepped over to her, opening his gloved hand. Apparently, her annoying little brother decided to sneak into her apartment when she wasn't around, only to find that stupid pregnancy test. She closed the boy's hand around the test. "That was privet."

"Who's the father? Because I'm going to kill him. Nobody's good enough for…"

A loud thud was heard as two goons came hurtling out, the gunfire still going off in another part of the warehouse area. Nightwing stepped out, rubbing the back of his head. "Huntress…" He stopped short. "Robin. What are you doing here? I said I'd be back as soon as I took care of business."

Damien turned his head, giving her an exasperated look. "That idiot?"

"Woah. So now you'd rather hang out fighting crime with the Huntress rather than your big brother." Nightwing became a tad overdramatic, acting as if Damien shot him in the heart. "I'm wounded."

"Die." Damien was far from amused. "I am currently _not_ in the mood." The sound of voices made him stop speaking, and the vigilante's found themselves diving for hiding, unable to hide those they'd taken out with them. He looked up at Huntress. "You've not told that idiot, have you?"

"That idiot thinks I called him here to help me with an incident I knew nothing about." Both could hear the goons talking about killing the rival gang members they'd left conveniently out for them. They'd already levied a bunch of bullets into one.

Damien let out a sigh. "I stand correct. There is one person good enough for my sister in this world. He would make a good father. I should know, considering…."

Helena knew how Batman was. She squeezed Damien's hand before he darted out to take care of the men before they could kill anybody else. She came out to see Nightwing and Robin had taken care of these goons. She watched Nightwing signal their next course – heading in the direction where the rest of the gunfire was coming from.

" _When will this madness end?_ " She'd not gotten far, when the self-doubt set in. " _You're going to be a mother, a mother for crying aloud! This is irresponsible, but it's not just your life on the line._ "

"Huntress! _"_

Helena froze, realizing she'd not been paying attention. She looked up in time to see a male bearing down on her with a melee weapon improvised from the long pieces of scrap lying around. She didn't have time to move in front of the man. She closed her eyes, expecting to be hit, only to hear a groan. Opening them, she noticed Nightwing, who called out to her, had managed to step between her and the goon.

Angrily, he threw his knee into the guys gut, before bringing both down hard onto the guys back a few times, before tossing the guy unceremoniously into the water. He turned towards her, the anger still flaming. "What is your problem? You've been nothing but distracted tonight? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"You're right. I shouldn't be here tonight."

Nightwing startled. "You were wanting to lecture me for goofing off with Batgirl, and…"

"It's not like that. I'm not in a condition to be fighting."

"That's why you wanted my help."

Helena took a deep breath. "No. I didn't even know this was going down tonight."

"If you didn't, then why…"

"Nightwing, I'm pregnant."

He stared at her. He didn't blink, he didn't say anything. Then, his mouth opened, his eyes blinked. "I… Huntress, I wouldn't make a good father."

That wasn't the answer she was expecting. "Robin disagrees."

Nightwing's mouth opened, but a gunshot – one closer than the gunfire from the final group rang through the air. He paused, his eyes gliding down to look at his shoulder. Neither one had been paying attention, yet his head jerked up in high alert. "Huntress, get down."

He pushed her down behind a rather solid structure as a few more shots rang out, but not before she caught sight of the nearby tank. The next thing she heard was an explosion ringing through her ears.


End file.
